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Sports fans — as in those who faithfully support a team — and a balanced, unbiased stance rarely play well together.
Colombia’s media and many of its citizens are often insufferable when it comes to supporting their national football team. (Image from Facebook.)
‘My team, good. The team we’re playing against, bad.’ That’s generally how it goes. Facts get discarded or are at least explained away by some intricate, yet utterly ludicrous, verbal gymnastics.
Departing from the faithful
It is fanaticism after all. Displaying doubt or accepting criticism means one is not a true believer. Once one takes that leap of faith, the only way to stay suspended is to fully buy into the creed.
Of course, sport deals predominantly in the physical and the here and now, unlike religious faith, which is very much metaphysical and independent of time, until Judgement Day, that is.
What’s more, facts, stats, and delivering something tangible and understandable in the moment play significant roles in sport.
Thus, being a ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ blind sports fanatic is more difficult to justify. Or at least it should be.
Many, though, enter into what I consider to be Faustian-esque fanaticism, particularly with football, or soccer if you prefer. It certainly has evil elements to it.
Insufferable Selección support
Now, while the uncritical mass support for the Colombian men’s national football team, la Selección (or la Sele for short) as it’s affectionately called, rarely results in acts of violence against non-believers, it does get rather nauseating all the same.
Rather than being something to be admired, it often comes across as immature. The media not only fans the flames of this football fawning but also engages in it itself.
OK, I’ve never been a, um, fan of the contrived impartiality some other national media outlets try to implement but refusing to see any faults or shortcomings in one’s own team is a worse trait.
Such behaviour ensures many la Selección fanatics are both bad losers and bad winners. There’s no sense of perspective.
For sure, this isn’t exclusive to Colombia. I’ve unfortunately been in the presence of some Argentineans when their football team is playing and they’re arguably more insufferable. And many of my fellow country folk can be the same, just not usually with soccer.
‘I can more readily get behind Bogotá’s Millonarios football club because I know not everyone in the vicinity will be backing my side.’
The thing with Colombia and most other South American countries is the intensity of fanaticism. I’d wager that about 95 per cent of Colombians enthusiastically support the national team and of that number, perhaps three out of every five are insufferable fanatics.
In the likes of Ireland, a range of sports vie for the nation’s undivided attention, so there tends to be fewer insufferable fanatics of any one pursuit. In addition, in Ireland, cynicism and indifference are commonplace, particularly amongst the older generations.
Blind indifference
Thus, Colombia’s all-behind-la-Selección approach is a little too much for me. OK, when the team advances in a competition the giddy excitement is understandable, but even in rather meaningless friendly games the enthusiasm is usually excessive. It’s why I find it hard to support them.
Well, also at play is that I’m usually uncomfortable when I find myself siding with the majority. For example, I can more readily get behind Bogotá’s Millonarios football club because I know not everyone in the vicinity will be backing my side.
It must also be noted that I can often be more critical of those who I want to see do well than those for whom I care little.
Plus, as I age, I question myself more as to why I waste my energy and time supporting individuals or teams who don’t know or care about me, something I touched on in Making the bell toll for us while we still can.
The default mode for many foreigners who make Colombia their home is to mimic the masses and go all in for la Sele. I, too, have played that game. It’s one of the quickest ways to win the favour of the locals, ephemeral and shallow as that will most likely be.
These days, however, I’m more comfortable declaring my indifference. This stance is made easier seeing how some of my more respected Colombian acquaintances are also quite indifferent to the team’s fortunes.
Bet on Colombia
Now, I shouldn’t need to refute here the idea that my indifference to la Selección means I dislike Colombia in general. Some more immature, myopic types will, however, draw that conclusion.
In Loving Colombia, Seventh heaven: Seven benefits of living in Colombia, and many other posts I’ve given various reasons why I like Colombia. My more than 12 years being based here also shows that I have much time for this country.
Also, I’m not completely immune to all the hype and carnival atmosphere that surrounds a Colombian football match, particularly the kind that comes when the team plays well and progresses in tournaments, as it is at Copa América 2024 as I write these lines. (And no, I’m not trying to jinx them.) One would have to live in solitude in some isolated outpost not to feel the fervour
It’s just that I can’t get that emotionally involved in the games without a blood connection or something to that effect. And nowadays I’m less inclined to feign fanaticism just to get along. I do, though, still like to watch the games in a public setting. Doing so with less intense, more learned Colombian supporters is a help. Such types do exist.
One way I could force myself to be a more enthusiastic fan is by betting money on the team. Become a fool and a fan in the one go, so to put it.
Although, I think it’s best to stick to my intelligent indifference for now.
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